CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 3
We are partakers of the heavenly calling here, not seen in heavenly places as Ephesians 2. In Hebrews we are viewed as going on to heaven. “Consider the [p. 101] Apostle and High Priest of our profession” is the rallying point. He puts them into their position and then warns them.
Heavenly calling commences, in a way, with Abraham, but really with christians. It implies a heavenly people on earth. “But now they desire a better ... that is, an heavenly”. Abraham looked for, and will be in, the heavenly city, though he is not part of the building. He left Babylon for a walk of faith. Babylon was independence of God, Babylon is our snare now. Heavenly calling is not the same as church calling, but is the calling, in this day, of the individuals who compose the church.
The difference between the earth and the world is that the former is an actual place, the world is an organisation, a moral thing. Earthly is in contrast to heavenly, as places. We never give up our place here till we get a better place. This heavenly calling is brought in by divine commission. How can we escape if we refuse the heavenly thing?
“Calling” in Ephesians 4 is in view of a people in heaven. “Calling” in Hebrews 3 is in view of a people on earth. In Hebrews we have a continuation of God’s people on earth. The place of the priest determines the character of the blessing. In Israel the priest comes out to bless. In Hebrews we have boldness to enter the holiest. Difference of priesthood (Aaronic or Melchizedek) determines the character, or rather the different character of blessing. Melchizedek priesthood - the priest comes out; in Hebrews we go in. It is ever important to notice the place from which God speaks. If from the earth, it is chiefly in connection with earthly things; if from heaven, heavenly things. The communications here come from heaven. The place where the mischief was done is the place where it must be set right - “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself”, 2 Corinthians 5: 19.
Here, Christ is seen as Son over God’s house, whatever [p. 102] that house may be and however wide its extent. He was greater than Moses. His sonship gives Him the place of pre-eminence. The important point to the Hebrews was that the Son Himself was the Apostle. In verse 7 he turns to exhortation and shows them what their forefathers were. They were not going on; like the slothful man who says, “There is a lion without”. How could he know it? If you go on you will find it is not there. We must go on. It is a race to heaven.
The “provocation” was when they refused the testimony of the spies. Israel did not go on because of difficulties, but there are not two roads; hence the difficulties must be faced. Weakness is spoken of at the end of chapter 4 as we might plead weakness, but we have a great High Priest, etc. The unbelieving spies saw the difficulties, but did not bring God in; they did not deny the richness of the land, but regarded the difficulties in their own strength.
A dead and risen man is the only one who could fight the inhabitants of the land. Israel despised the pleasant land. The battle of the provocation must be fought. Are you set for heaven? Then, if you have not fought that battle, you will have to do so; you cannot get out of a thing without going through it. In Hebrews we are set for heaven, but we generally turn back; directly we move the enemy moves. The boast of hope (verse 6) is what they had at the Red Sea (Exodus 15).
“If indeed we hold the beginning of the assurance firm to the end” (verse 14). Israel’s song was one of confidence (Exodus 15). In Leviticus 26: 13 we find, “I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you walk upright”, that is, with boldness. This word ‘upright’ is the same as that translated ‘confidence’ in Hebrews 3: 6.
In chapter 4, “Lest ... any one of you might seem to have failed of it” is being discouraged, not equal to [p. 103] it. We must labour to enter into that rest. Every person turning back begins with discontent, not satisfied with the things we have, lusting for the things of Egypt; hence the exhortation in chapter 13, “Be content with such things as ye have”. Discontent is the outcome of unbelief. Directly I let the idea of want occur, I am in danger. This is the meaning of departing from the living God.
We must not think we get any help in our infirmities unless we are on our way to heaven, pressing forward on the road. The word here is for direction more than for correction. (Compare verses 2, 6, 12, 13.) If for direction, then for detection. We can have no sense of Christ’s priesthood in our path, unless it is a path of obedience. There may be ninety-nine roads, but really only one to heaven, and that is the road the Lord went.
There are three classes of infirmities - our circumstances, health, bereavements. The first two can be mended, the third cannot. If we are going on to heaven, the Lord comes in.
The word detects me, thus - say I am vexed, what is it? Myself? My vanity? or for the Lord? The word rakes me fore and aft, so to speak. If it be for the Lord, He says, ‘I know what that is’, and He helps me. The Lord conducts the people by His own path; out of that path, we are out of the sympathy of the Priest. The word is like a sign-post at cross-roads. It points the road to heaven, and thus keeps us off wrong roads. His word is to sustain our confidence in the path. Light discovers where I am, and what I am, and yet I keep with Him who is light, because of His heart. Seeming to come short is failing of faith in His promise.
The wilderness is the place of responsibility and Testing - properly speaking it is not a place, but only a bridge to cross over to another place (Exodus 15, Exodus 16, and a part of Exodus 17 give the wilderness of grace), and is not a part of God’s counsels. We break down because our conscience is not kept up to our faith. The Spirit of God never leads us beyond our conscience. We are responsible to be what He has called us to be.
Are you consciously up to what you know? Do you say, No? Are you feeling it? I am. And what are you doing? I am praying about it. That is right, God will help you. Difficulties are not infirmities. “By my God have I leaped over a wall”.
In christendom the question asked is, What is your creed? The great point is to keep your conscience up to your creed, the word of God. “A good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck”, 1 Timothy 1: 19.
Abraham had to go back to the place where his altar was first set up; he broke with his conscience when he went down into Egypt. He was away fifteen years, and those who study prophecy say that those fifteen years do not count in the 490. If we have the word of God we must obey. Dependence and obedience must go together.
In chapter 3: 18, we read, “To whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to those who had not hearkened to the word?” It is not a question here of faith, but of obedience, “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1). But I cannot obey unless I believe. We have the traits of faith in chapter 11. As an auctioneer praises a horse - he can go over this and that, and you say, ‘I would like to have that horse’. Well, here is faith, and the traits of it are referred to. They were to go on, they were not to build houses in the wilderness.
Numbers 14: Murmuring. If I am over Jordan, I am a dead man. In 1 Corinthians 10 we get the moral order instead of the historical order. Idolatry, fornication, tempting (Numbers 21), and murmuring (Numbers 14). Murmuring put last in the list to show it was all over with them.
[p. 105] Murmuring is apostasy. I am an apostate if the word is given up. If a living soul is not in exercise, it is in sin. There is no neutral ground - an evil heart of unbelief, if there is not faith. The Lord does not help us out of our infirmities (see 2 Corinthians 12: 7); but it is important to see how He helps us in them. It is a great thing to see where the High Priest is. He has gone through the heavens, that is the height to which He has gone, and He is taking us in spirit to the height where He is. A man throwing a rope to a drowning man from a little boat can only bring him to the height at which he is; if thrown from a man-of-war he is brought higher. He helps us on the road to the place where He is. He is there separated from sinners by the very fact that He is made higher than the heavens. He brings us into companionship with Himself where He is. His priesthood is to help me along the path which He has trodden. In John 11 the Lord is with Mary of Bethany. In John 12 Mary is with the Lord.
As regards weaknesses, the Lord takes us morally out of them. He gives Paul the sense of His own grace, and so makes him superior to his weakness. There is not a single miracle recorded in the gospel narrative which the Lord is not performing now morally.
In the last verse of chapter 4, grace comes first, because it is a throne of grace we approach; mercy afterwards. Mercy comes in after we get grace slighted and the law broken (Exodus 34). When we look to the Lord in our circumstances for grace, He says, I will now come in, and let you out. Paul and Silas are singing in prison - a passer-by might say, They are having good times in there; then the Lord takes them out. His mercy endureth for ever. Grace is the principle on which God acts. Grace sustains; mercy delivers from the trial. Grace is what is done inside me; mercy outside me. Grace is according to the measure of God’s heart, mercy according to the measure of man’s need. Mercy, the depths from which we are brought; grace, the heights to which we are brought. Paul had grace in respect of the thorn, but if it had been mercy, it would have been removed. Mercy meets misery. The throne of grace is in contrast with the throne of law. In Psalm 105 we have grace; in Psalm 106 mercy, meeting all ways of contrariety. Psalm 107 is succour in distress. Mercy in the Old Testament is more the thought of loving-kindness. The church in Christ does not need mercy. Mercy is more towards individuals. See Timothy.
In chapter 3 and to the end of verse 13 of chapter 4, we get the Apostle; from verse 14, the High Priest. In chapters 1 and 2 we have the personal dignity of the One who is “Apostle”.
Is not apostleship the central idea of high priesthood, as in Malachi, “The priest’s lips should keep knowledge”, etc.?
In chapters 3 and 4 the word is used because they were not in a condition for the priesthood. The priesthood gives you the lift. In chapter 1 sins are put away. I have a High Priest in Him who put them away. The new High Priest would not consist with the old order of things. He must bring in a new order of things. In the old order there were many offerings; in the new, one only. In chapter 5 the argument is working up to His being called. He did not take it up of His own will. The priesthood is not efficacious unless we are in obedience to the Apostle.
A man keeping the word of God must take a heavenly path, and in that path he has the sympathy of Christ. The sword here (chapter 4: 12) is not to judge, not to cut me for going wrong, but the most powerful weapon to keep me from going wrong. Instead of the priest coming out to bless, as in Judaism, they were to go in for blessing. There is no barrier now. God has removed every hindrance, and now it [p. 107] is for me to go in. The teachers of christendom have practically stitched up the veil which God rent.
The rent veil in the gospels is God coming out, but the rent veil in the Hebrews is our going in.
In the gospel the sinner is met. Here, it is the saint. Exodus is God’s approach to man; Leviticus, man’s approach to God, but the offerings were for those already in relationship. The passover was, strictly speaking, the only offering for the sinner. The day of atonement is wider in aspect than the passover. We get mainly, the passover, the day of atonement, and the brazen serpent.
Numbers 21 gives the judgment of sin in the flesh, the first man gone; then God can say, “Assemble the people, and I will give them water”.
In Leviticus 10 man is seen as irretrievably bad. In Leviticus 11 to 15 God’s holiness is seen. In Leviticus 16 all is over, and God comes out in a new way.
Hebrews 5: 12. Declension had come in, they were dull of hearing, they had become such as had need of milk. Infancy is the condition of soul under ordinances. Verse 13: the man has not a proper idea of what God’s righteousness is. From verse 11 of chapter 5 to the end of chapter 6 is a parenthesis, showing the condition of those addressed. In chapter 5, verses 5 and 6, Christ is presented in two different ways. In verse 5, Christ on earth - “I have today begotten thee”. In verse 6 He is exalted at God’s right hand, and the danger was that the people were connecting themselves with Him as in verse 5 instead of as in verse 6. Chapter 5, verse 12, “the beginning of the oracles of God” is in connection with Christ in His Messianic character; “going on to perfection” is Christ in glory. In chapter 6, verse 1: “The beginning of the Christ” refers to Christ on earth, and does not go beyond what they had as Jews. In chapter 5, verse 8, He learned obedience. In verse 9, “all them that obey him”. In verse 13, we have the result of being [p. 108] ignorant of the righteousness of God (the word of righteousness). If we do not understand God’s righteousness we cannot judge right and wrong. God’s righteousness is the standard of all. Coming into divine righteousness you become the servant of righteousness.